The Lost Muggle
by helgafromtoe2bow
Summary: There is an old forgotten magic that allows any witch or wizard that willingly gives their life for another, to be reborn as a muggle. With the help of a strangely familiar man, Severus Snape, will Nelly be able to discover who she was?
1. Godric's Hollow

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!*runs away and cries***

* * *

><p>"<em>Take him-just go-NOW QUICK!"<em>

_She could feel herself running, running up stairs. Confusion, a blinding flash of green light and then an eerie dark silence._

Nelly awoke with a jolt. The sheets she was wrapped in were hot and sweaty, so she threw them off to cool herself down. Her breathing was rapid, and it took her a few minutes to steady it.

The nightmare again...

It was not real she reminded herself. But then it had seemed so real, more like a memory than a dream. Nelly squeezed her eyes shut tightly. It was thoughts like those, which got her locked up in that mental asylum in the first place.

It was only two short years ago that Nelly had found herself confined in a white room in that asylum. People mentally prodding at her all day, waking her in the night, feeding her drugs to calm her during her panic attacks. She was always watched, denied basic privacies that _normal _people took for granted.

But that was all over now. Even though Nelly still had the same horrifying nightmares, she had learnt to separate reality from her visions- well _most _of the time.

Nelly had dreams about the strangest of things, not only flashes of light but ordinary objects acting in ways they shouldn't. Nelly now knew that these dreams were only creations of her imagination. But a small part of her believed in them.

Nelly got out of bed, her throat felt sore and dry so she went to the kitchen in search of something to quench her thirst. She opened the fridge. There was no milk. Groaning she settled for tap water while deciding that a trip to the supermarket was long overdue. Beams of sunlight had started to pour through the kitchen window.

After hurriedly jumping in the shower, taming her wild hair and applying very light touches of make-up she grabbed her thin woollen jumper shoved it on, followed by her thick overcoat. It was snowing outside and the last thing that Nelly needed was to come down with a fever.

As Nelly didn't gave a garage to park her small car in, it was freezing inside. Her breath quickly fogged up all the windows. Nelly turned the heater right up, rubbing her hands together for warmth while she waited for the windows to clear.

For some reason winter always made her feel _uncomfortable_.

Nelly turned on the engine and drove to the supermarket. She had done it plenty of times before so when she failed to indicate at the turnoff to the supermarket, she couldn't understand why.

"Never mind," she sighed to herself, "I'll just continue down this road until I find somewhere I can make a legal u-turn."

But even though Nelly passed plenty of places where she could turn, she didn't end up turning back. Instead she just kept driving. It didn't feel like she was in control, something inside of her was guiding her, telling her to turn this way and that. Nelly had no idea where she was going, or why, but she felt that it had something to do with her visions.

As the houses grew further and further apart, Nelly realised she was no longer in town. She was out in the country side, God knows where!

For hours she drove, passing through many towns and villages, all places she had never even heard of. It was well past lunchtime and Nelly felt hunger pains in her stomach as she still hadn't eaten anything that day. But she couldn't stop driving.

At dusk she found herself in a quiet old country village called 'Godric's Hollow'. The place had an eerie familiarity. Nelly felt as though she'd been here before, a long time ago. She shook her head expelling these thoughts. There was no way she'd ever been here.

Shortly after driving past an old war memorial in the village, Nelly felt the sudden urge to stop. She pulled up at the side of the small road, wrapped her coat tightly around herself, and stepped out of the car.

Around her were neat rows of very old looking houses. But only one spot on the street caught her attention. There was an empty block across the street from where she was standing. She felt her feet pulling her towards it. That's when she noticed a man dressed in dark robes kneeling in front of the block. As she drew closer she saw the man trace over the air lightly with the tips of his fingers, as if he was touching an object that was unforeseen to her. Nelly couldn't help but feel she seen this man before, more than once.

His long black hair draped around his face as he hung his head in sadness. He was muttering to himself. "Gone." He whispered.

Nelly stepped right behind him, watching him carefully. He looked up into the empty block, as though he could see something. Nelly looked up with him, she couldn't see anything, but she could _feel _something.

Then suddenly the urge came over her to speak to this man, who obviously was so consumed over his grief that he hadn't realised he wasn't alone.

"You see it, don't you?" she asked softly.

The strange man jumped up and turned around to face her. She saw his expression of immense pain disappear. He looked at her with annoyance. He probably doesn't appreciate being disturbed during his private mourning

"Of course I see it." he spat sarcastically. She winced at his cruel tone. He said those words as though anyone would be a fool not to see the mysterious object.

The man looked as though he was in his early forties. He had cold black eyes and a hooked nose. Even though his features were unusual she found something about him appealing.

He turned, and Nelly assumed he was going to leave, when he reached into his robes and pulled out a strange stick. Something inside Nelly clicked, it was a wand. No, she thought. It's just an ordinary stick. Magic... is _not_ real.

The man lifted up the stick and was about to wave it when Nelly cried out "Stop!"

He looked at her in confusion. Nelly blushed, not knowing what had come over her.

"Why?" he asked dryly.

"Please! You must help me!"

Nelly didn't know why, but all of a sudden her visions didn't seem so crazy anymore. She felt as though this man could help her to find what she'd been missing her whole life.

"I don't_ have_ to do anything." He spat and was about to wave his stick- no _wand_ again.

"NO! Please, I have searched for so long for answers, that now I feel you can tell me!"

"What makes you think that I could help you? Or would even want to?"

"Before, you said you could s-see it!"

"Any witch or wizard can see it." He rolled his eyes, why was this lunatic witch bothering him of all people?

"W-Witch? Wizard?" Nelly asked.

He mentally groaned. "You can't see it, can you?" the man asked blankly. He had obviously just crossed paths with a muggle. It was strange that he hadn't noticed it straight away. He was normally not one to get these thing mixed up.

"No. I can't see it." Nelly admitted "But I can feel it. It drew me here. I don't know why but I think it has something to do with my visions."

Nelly knew she shouldn't be opening up to a complete stranger, but she felt that she could trust this man. That she even needed him.

He smiled crookedly as though amused at something she had said.

"I saw nothing." He added.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Nelly screamed. She hadn't meant to yell, but he was frustrating her. After all, didn't he just say that he had seen something? She shyly added, "Sorry, I don't normally yell at strangers, but I know you saw something. I can sense it. It's magic isn't it?"

The man sighed, this was obviously no normal muggle. Even though he wanted to leave and pretend he had never met her, he knew it was his duty to take her to the Ministry of Magic. They can deal with her.

"Take my arm." He commanded.

Nelly instinctively obliged linking her arm in his, "If you're not going to answer me, then at least tell me your name."

The man knew that the Ministry would be 'correcting' her memory shortly anyway, so he saw no harm in allowing her that one small request. "Severus, Severus Snape."

He finally waved the 'stick' and a strange crack echoed through the air.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello everyone, thanks for reading this please review. I am open to plot/writing style suggestions comments, feedback, anything, even flames, although I have an idea where this story is going. Yes there will be romance soon, and as you have probably guessed Nelly is Lily. So please review and tell me what you think! I live for your reviews! Also if you dont understand something at anytime in this story I am more than happy to clear it up for you :) The magic that allows Lily to be reborn will be explained in later chapters though.**


	2. Ministry of Magic

Nelly almost gagged. She had never experienced something that caused her to feel so sick. The man, Severus, didn't seem to even flinch at whatever just happened.

Looking around her Nelly found herself in a busy, crowded street. The last lights of day had faded, and the street was lit up artificially. How did they get here, in such a short amount of time, without so much as moving? Why had she even trusted this strange man? They'd never met before. How could she be sure that he meant her no harm?

Then the realisation hit her. Severus had just performed _magic._ Although she had just a moment ago proclaimed that magic was real, the logical part of her, the part that feared being sent back into that asylum couldn't believe it. But it had to have been magic, she could not think of any logical reason that would explain how they had arrived in this strange place.

"W-where are we? And how did we get here?" Nelly asked.

Severus ignored her question, and immediately shook off Nelly's hold on his arm. He walked over to a nearby telephone box, and motioned for her to follow. Nelly was hesitant, but she didn't know what else she could do, seeing as she had no idea where she was .They both squished into the tight space, Severus uncomfortably tried to place as much distance between them as possible, obviously not used being this close to others.

The telephone apparatus was half hanging off the wall and Nelly felt sure that it would be out of order "Er, S-severus, I don't think it's in working order." she said nervously.

"Not for muggle purposes, but it will do perfectly fine for us." he sneered.

"What's a muggle?"

But like most of Nelly's other questions he ignored her, and concentrated on dialling numbers into the phone. She watched his fingers, memorising the phone number in case it was important. Six, two, four, four, two.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business." A load female voice boomed, not through the telephone receiver like Nelly expected, but through the air. She jumped startled, knocking into Severus in the confined space. He glared at her. She shot him an apologetic look in response.

"I am Professor Severus Snape, current Potions Master at Hogwarts, I am here to report an incident that threatens the secrecy of the wizard realm. Today while in Godric's Hollow, a muggle approached me whom at first I assumed was a witch. She strongly believes in the existence of magic. I accidently confirmed this belief, so I reluctantly decided the best course of action was to bring her here."

"Her name?" the voice asked.

"Nelly Rodgers." Nelly answer meekly, as she realised she had never told Severus what her name was.

"Thank you," said the cool female voice. "Visitors, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

There was a click and rattle as two objects slid out of the metal chute where returned coins usually appeared. Severus picked both of them up and pinned one to the front of his robes. It read '_Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master'_.

He passed the other badge to Nelly. It was square, silver and read _'Nelly Rodgers, Muggle'_. This made her feel uncomfortable. Nelly didn't exactly understand what a _muggle_ was, but being called one made her feel inadequate.

"Professor Snape, you are required to present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the end of the Atrium. Both of you will be required to submit to a search."

Suddenly the floor of the telephone box began to shake. They were sinking into the ground. It was only a minute before the telephone box came to a stop and the voice said "The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day."

The door opened and they both stepped out. They were in a very long and splendid hall, on a highly polished dark wooden floor. Nelly looked in wonder at the walls of the hall, which were lined in many fireplaces.

'Why would they need to keep this room so warm?' she thought. It took Nelly a few moments to realise that people were popping out of the fire places. It was probably another form of transport for witches and wizards. The place that they were now standing in was obviously the Ministry of Magic that the voices had spoken of. Nelly hadn't thought that they would need a _Ministry _for magic, but then again, what was she to know about magic.

They followed the crowd of people that were heading towards a pair of golden gates located at the end of the hall, but broke away when they reached a desk that read _'Security'_. There were two employees seated behind the desk dressed in blue robes.

One looked up at Nelly and Severus. "What's your order of business?" he demanded.

Before Severus could answer the other employee cut in "Bernie, you know that we don't need to ask every single person who passes through here what their business is. Otherwise we would be here all night trying to sort through everyone."

A crowd of people were starting to form behind Nelly and Severus, all waiting to pass through security. Nelly noticed a badge on Bernie's chest. It read 'trainee'.

"You scan the muggle, and I'll handed Professor Snape here." instructed the other man.

Bernie produced a golden wand and waved it over Nelly.

Nelly was slightly worried that he would find something wrong with her, and a little bit insulted that she had been referred to as 'the muggle'. But to her great relief the man completed the scan, and resumed his seat bind the desk. The other employee had already finished scanning Severus, and presumably inspecting his wand too.

Severus started to walk away from the desk when Bernie called back "EH, PROFESSOR! We 'ere all appreciate that good things you done in the last war. You're a good man." There was a murmur of agreement from the people waiting for processing.

Severus stiffened but ignored them. He led Nelly back into the stream of people and they walked through the gates, where they found themselves in a smaller hall. There was a row of lifts lined up along it, and Severus grabbed Nelly's arm so that they wouldn't be separated in the crowd. They waited in front of one of the lifts with a group of other people dressed in robes who Nelly supposed were wizards.

The lift doors opened and the people waiting poured in, while many people who were already in the lift poured out. The lift was even more crowded than the telephone box had been and Nelly could hardly breathe.

"Level 3, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes." boomed the cool female voice from the telephone box. As the lift came to a stop Nelly tried to move closer to the walls of the lift to let the people who were getting off pass her, but Severus had other ideas and pulled her off with him.

"This is where we need to go." he informed her.

Nelly was starting to get very frustrated. She knew that she had asked this man to help her, but that didn't give him the right to pull her around to strange places without even explaining why! Why on earth would he take her to this level? There had not been any sort of 'accident' or 'catastrophe' that she'd heard of. In fact why did she need to be in this bloody Ministry of Magic place at all? All Nelly wanted was some simple answers, and she was sure that Severus could have given them to her if he'd wanted. So why did he bring her here?

Anger was building up inside her and she angrily snatched her arm back from Severus and stopped in the middle of the hallway. The people, who were walking behind her, were forced to step around Nelly. They gave her annoyed glances as they hurried on about their business. One man hadn't realised that Nelly had stopped and bumped right into her. She jolted forward and only just managed to prevent herself from falling. He muttered a quick apology before rushing away.

"What are you doing foolish girl!" Severus hissed. He looked really mad.

"I'm not going with you, until you explain why you brought me here!" Nelly said stubbornly, folding her arms in front of her.

Severus pulled her to the side of the corridor to make room for the people rushing about. He stepped in closer, his face only inches from hers and viciously whispered "I haven't got time for such _nonsense_! We are here to correct your problem. That's _all _you need to know."

"That's not good enough for me. I swear I won't go anywhere else with you unless you explain why I am here. Properly this time." Nelly hadn't bothered to lower her voice, and Severus glanced around them nervously. He couldn't have this muggle woman making a scene in the middle of the Ministry. Severus contemplated using magic to force her to come, but he didn't want to have to resort to that, if it could be avoided.

"Fine." he sighed, "I will tell you everything you need to know, but not here."

Nelly nodded. She didn't know why but she trusted Severus. Besides people were still throwing them dirty looks and it was becoming very unnerving.

He relaxed slightly and eased her down the corridor. They reached a door that read _'The Obliviator Headquaters'_, it didn't sound very welcoming, and a sweep of fear overcame Nelly when they entered inside.

Apart from a few desks, where employees in green robes sat, the room was pretty much empty. The walls were lined with doors that were identical to the one they just came through.

"Okay," Nelly stopped once again, "I'm ready."

"Must I?"

"Yes. You said you would, and I want to know why I am here."

Severus couldn't be bothered arguing with her and sarcastically replied "You are here Miss Rodgers, because not only do you believe in magic and things that cannot be seen, but I also let it slip to you that witches and wizards do in fact...exist." he paused, drawing breath. "This department is designed to eradicate the memories of muggles in your..._predicament _so that you won't remember anything about the existence of magic." The way he said this was so light and carefree that he seemed to think that removing people's memories was a simple and justifiable task.

An expression of absolute horror splashed across Nelly's face. This wasn't what she wanted! She wanted answers, not to forget her questions!

"I-I thought you were going to help me!" she snapped, backing away from the Potions Master.

"I am."

"By making me forget, by removing something that is part of me? This isn't what I wanted! I wanted to understand my visions, not to have them taken from me. I've been through too much already, people telling me that I was crazy, telling me that it was all in my head. But it turns out I was right! And I won't let you take that from me."

"Miss Rodgers, sometimes what you want and what you need are two completely different things. Perhaps removing your memories isn't the best thing for you. But that's not for me to decide. The Ministry is in charge of cases such as yours and if you really want to keep them you can take the matter up with them. Either way I don't care. It has nothing to do with me. According to Wizard law it was my responsibility to bring you to the Ministry, but after that I can brush my hands of the matter."

Nelly was disappointed she had thought this man had the answers. She thought he was going to help her. Now she was stuck in some Ministry with absolutely no idea how to get out. Even if know where the exit was, they could probably stop her in a second with a powerful spell. Her best bet was to convince the Ministry that they should let her keep her memories.

Snape walked over to a desk located to the right of the room. He addressed a lady sitting behind it and began explaining his _problem_ "I am Professor Severus Snape. I have a muggle with me, her name is Nelly Rodgers. I met her in Godric's Hol..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I didn't get one single review on my last chapter *runs away and cries*. Please please someone make my day and review! I love this story, even though my writing's poor. But it disheartens me that no one is even the slightest bit interested in it! I really would like some feedback, was my writing better or worse this chapter? I just can't tell! Please take 10 secs to write a short review!**


	3. Jane from the Obliviator Headquaters

**A/N: I was pleased to find that I had a few reviews now thanks to EcoWarriorX, GothGirl3030, rubina and Laura Beth loves Jesus. Rubina you are right, this is set after the second war and how he survived will be explored later on. I won't tell you on my A/N how, in case it is accidently read by others, but if you have an account I could message it to you. Or else you could just wait and see what happens . I noticed that people were adding this story to their favorites and/or subscribing and I thank them for it but I would also appreciate reviews from these people, so that I know whether I am heading in the right direction with this story. Thanks everyone for reading this far!**

* * *

><p>When Severus had finished explaining the situation to the lady, whose name was Jane, she nodded her head quietly. Jane focused her attention on Nelly and asked her a few questions about her visions. Nelly ended up telling Jane almost all she knew about her nightmares, and even about the couple of years she had spent in the mental asylum.<p>

Jane took some notes and then looked at both Snape and Nelly. Severus waited for her to speak, but she remained silent. "Well, what is to be done about it?" he asked impatiently.

"I guess we will have to wipe her memory of today, and implement false memories of today's activities, so tomorrow when she wakes up, Nelly won't realize she is missing a day of her life." Jane paused, sighing "That's the easy part. Her visions also need to be addressed. I don't understand what causes these dreams, but we not only need to erase her memories of these dreams, but also need to find a way to prevent them from occurring in the future."

"What?" demanded Nelly, who had been listening anxiously. "Wait, I don't want you to remove my memories at all! I mean losing today would be bad enough, but how can you take away my dreams? They have caused me a lot of difficulties in the past, but they're part of who I am, and it's not like they _confirm _that magic is real! My dreams are none of the Ministry's business!"

"Nelly dear, your dreams are dangerous they –"

"NO! I don't care what you people want, and if you think I'm hanging around here for one more minute while you deliberate over my personal affairs, then you are MISTAKEN!" Nelly turned from the woman and ran as fast as she could to the door she had just come through. In her panic she had forgotten that she was in a room full of people with magic, who could easily stop her if they wanted to.

Jane flicked her wand at the door, and just as Nelly reached for the handle she heard the lock click. Nelly tried to open it even though she knew it was pointless. Frustrated, she banged her fist on the door before sliding onto the floor and bursting into tears. Was she ever going to have control over her own life?

The woman walked over to where Nelly sobbing. She knelt down beside her and patted Nelly's back, "There, there. It isn't so bad. Look on the bright side. Tomorrow you won't remember that you were upset."

Nelly shoved Jane's hand away from her "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Look, Nelly. I'm very sorry that we have to do this, but if your dreams are what led you to Godric's Hollow in the first place, how can we be sure that this won't happen again? You don't have normal dreams Nelly. Even muggles who know nothing about magic can work that out. That's why you were put in an asylum. Please dear don't sit on the floor. Why don't you sit in one of those waiting chairs over there while I speak with Professor Snape?"

After a few moments Nelly managed to compose herself enough to stand up, and make her way over to the waiting chairs. Jane and Snape were whispering about her in one of the corners of the room. Nelly strained her ears to hear what they were saying.

"I have never seen any muggle behave like this before." Jane told Professor Snape, "Usually muggles want to forget our world. To most the idea of magic is scary and they would rather live in ignorance, than have to acknowledge its existence."

He brushed off her comment, "Is that all the Ministry of Magic requires of me? I have my own affairs to attend to."

"I suppose. But wouldn't you like to stay for a while, so that you can see for yourself how Miss Rodgers goes?"

"No. I have better things to do than worry about the wellbeing of strangers." and with that Severus left, unlocking the door with his wand, and relocking it on the other side.

For someone who was supposed to have been such a great hero in the war, Jane found Severus Snape to be rather unkind. She looked over at Nelly who was now sitting in one of the waiting chairs to the side of the room. Silent tears ran down her face. Jane was not looking forward to completing this task.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry this chapter took ages to post up, I was away for the weekend. I know it's a bit short, but I needed to separate this from the next part.. Now that I'm back I'll be posting up a new chapter nearly every day, unless the dreaded writers block comes along. I have already started the next chapter, and things are about to get interesting. Please review if you read this, even if you thought it was crap, in fact especially if you thought it was crap, so that I can improve. I would appreciate suggestions as well. Thanks a lot!**


	4. The Office of Mr Jones

**A/N: I dedicate this chapter to crz4greece, and her fanfic 'Lessons in love', it is a Snape/Hermione fic, and the best fanfic I have ever read. I recommend everyone to read it (after they have finished this chapter of course). It is so good that one of her readers made a trailor for it, check that out too :)...**

**Anyway enjoy this chapter, and dont forget to review, I dont really have that many, and no one has given me advice yet which is what I really need. Thanks to those that reviewed though :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Two weeks later….<strong>

Severus was just finishing up his breakfast in the Great Hall, when the post arrived. Owls flew in through the windows dropping letters and parcels to students and teachers alike. Several letters fell in front of Snape. He ignored them. Since the war he had received quite a lot of '_fan'_ mail, thanking him for his heroic efforts, sometimes even requesting an interview. Rita Skeeter sent him letters almost daily. It had gotten to the stage where Snape simply stopped opening his mail all together.

"Looks like you have a letter from the Ministry of Magic, perhaps you should read that one." Professor McGonagall, who was sitting beside him, commented. McGonagall was fully aware of Snape's habit to throw out mail without even opening it, so when she spotted the Ministry's seal on one of his letters she thought she had better warn him to take a look.

Snape raised his eyebrows in surprise. He rarely ever received _important_ mail. Why would the Ministry send him a letter?

Professor McGonagall passed Snape her silver letter opener "I'm guessing you didn't bring one down with you?" she laughed friendlily. He shook his head, taking the letter opener.

Snape would never admit it, but he was slightly curious about the contents of the letter. He had only ever received two letters from the Minstry, one was a warning not to perform underage magic, and the other was to thank him for his 'Heroic effort in the Second Wizarding War'. While Snape was still furious at Potter for opening his big mouth about everything Harry had seen that night in the Pensieve, Harry's testimony was the only thing that had stood between Snape and Azkaban. As much as he hated all the attention he received for his _heroic _actions, it was slightly preferable to spending the rest of his days in the notorious prison.

_Dear Professor Severus Snape,_

_You are required to report to the Ministry of Magic this Saturday morning at preciously 10 o'clock. Upon your arrival you will be met by an authorized person at the security desk which is located at the end of the Atrium. Thanks for your time, please send a response back with the Ministry Owl, to acknowledge that you received this letter._

_Hoping that you are well,_

_Mr. Jones_

_Ministry of Magic._

Severus sighed in disappointment. The Ministry didn't reveal much in their letter. He found it peculiar that it didn't mention which office Mr. Jones was from. While he was pondering over this the owl from the Ministry was growing impatient, and started pecking at his robes. "Alright, you stupid bird, I am writing it!" he muttered angrily. Owls could be so annoying.

Snape attached his reply to the owl and returned the letter opener to Professor McGonagall. She smiled. When he was a boy she hadn't liked Severus Snape…. and as a Professor she had liked him less. His attitude towards the students was appalling, especially those in her house. When he killed Dumbledore she most shamefully had not been surprised. Yet now, when she knew the truth about Snape, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but be in awe of the man. He had given and risked so much, and received nothing in return.

On Saturday morning at _preciously_ 10 o'clock, Snape found himself waiting at the security desk for the 'authorized' person to show up.

After Snape had been searched, Bernie the trainee had most enthusiastically offered the newly famous hero his chair to wait in.

"I prefer to stand." the Potions Master informed him.

Bernie thought that Snape had refused out of politeness, and said "I don't mind Professor. Yeh can sit there. Please."

"I don't _want_ to _sit_ there." Snape spat.

Bernie shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "So, eh, Sir, I never actually 'eard how yeh survived that night… yeh know, durin' the famous Hogwarts Battle."

"Didn't you?" Snape asked sarcastically. He began to pace back and forth, folding his hands behind his back. Severus didn't know how many more of Bernie's well-meant questions he could take.

"Well how is it that yeh came ter survive?"

"That," said Snape glaring at Bernie "is none of your business. If I wanted the world to know about it, I would have consented to the Daily Prophets never ceasing requests to interview me on the matter."

"I'm real sorry Sir, I meant nothin' by it. I wasn't thinkin' that it could be painful ter yeh when I asked." Bernie became slightly flustered and nervously twitched.

"It is not painful," snapped Severus "I just don't that it is necessary for my life to be gossiped about for the _entertainment_ of others."

"Oh." said Bernie "I'm sorry. I didn' mean t –

"Stop annoying Professor Snape, and start searching visitors! You trainees are more _work_ than you're worth." growled the superior employee at the security desk. While Bernie was talking, he hadn't noticed the growing line of visitors at the desk.

As Snape was mentally thanking the employee for shutting the annoying idiot up, Jane, the woman from the Obliviator Office on level three, approached him.

Then it clicked. This call to the Ministry must have something to do with the muggle woman that he found in Godric's Hollow. All curiosity in him died. He didn't care what happened to that woman. He thought he'd made that perfectly clear.

"Ah, Professor Snape, I trust you're well?" Jane asked smiling, "I am sorry to have kept you waiting, but I had an urgent issue to deal with that took more time than was first anticipated."

Snape did not return her smile and merely answered "I am well."

"Good to hear, good to hear. We'll be going to level three today. There I will introduce you to someone who will explain why you are here."

"It's about that muggle woman isn't it?"

"Sssh." Jane nervously looked around them. Then she whispered "We can't discuss it here. This is not a normal case, and the Ministry has decided we must act with absolute secrecy."

Snape took that as a yes. Honestly he couldn't understand why they needed to take such secretive measures. The Ministry was always erasing muggles' memories. That was no secret. What made this muggle, Nelly, so different?

They took a lift up to level three, and went to the Office of Obliviators. But they did not go near Jane's desk. Instead she led Severus to a door in the large room.

Jane knocked on the door, and a grumpy middle-aged voiced called out "Enter."

The office was dark, lit by only a few petty candles. There were no windows. Papers and files were scattered all about the room.

"Mr. Jones, Sir, this is Professor Severus Snape."

"Thank you Jane." Mr. Jones winked at her "That will be all, for now."

"Yes Sir." Jane smiled and left the room, ensuring that the door was closed behind her.

Mr. Jones addressed Snape, "Please sit Professor." he said motioning to a chair in front of his desk. Snape pulled it out and was about to sit down, when he found that it was covered in papers as well.

Mr. Jones noticed Snape's hesitation and stood up to see if there was anything wrong with the chair. "Oh, excuse me!" he said blushing slightly. "I guess I should put those away." He walked over to the chair, scooped up the papers in his beefy arms, opened the nearest draw and just shoved them in. Mr. Jones tried to shut the draw, but it was too full. In the end he gave up, and just left it hanging open.

"Now," he said brushing his hands "I guess you want to know why you're here?"

"Obviously." droned Snape, "I know it has something to do with that muggle – Nelly."

"Yes, yes. You're quite right. It has everything to do with her." Mr. Jones frowned "You see, Nelly….. is not…well _normal_."

"I still don't see what this has to do with me." Snape deepened his stare at Mr. Jones.

"Well," Mr. Jones said hesitantly, he had no idea how Snape was going to react to what he had to say, and Snape's glaring was not helping him to feel more comfortable. But he knew he had to tell Snape eventually. "you see…..the Ministry needs your help, to…er…..make sense of Nelly's visions."

"W-what?" spluttered Snape, more out of surprise than annoyance, "Make sense of them? I thought you were going to _remove_ them, not help Nelly understand what they mean!"

"Well we were. But that's the thing. We can't work out _how_ to remove them."

"That is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard!"Snape sneered, "Are you trying to tell me, that the Ministry believes there is someone who is _immune_ to memory charms? –And, that of _all_ people that it could be, a _muggle_, with absolutely_ no _magic, has this rare immunity?"

"N-no, well actually yes, sort of…..but"

"Which is it?_ Yes _or _no_?"

Sighing Mr. Jones said, "Nelly's memory is not immune to memory charms. We managed to successfully remove the memory of your meeting in Godric's Hollow straight away. Of course…..Jane did that…she said it was nasty business, when the girl had her heart set on keeping her memories so much." Mr. Jones rubbed the back of his neck. He felt kind of sorry for Nelly.

"Yes, so what's the problem?" Snape was getting frustrated. Why couldn't Mr. Jones get straight to the point?

"Jane attempted to remove Nelly's visions from her memory. But…she…eh..couldn't. So we had some of our more senior employees from the Oblivator Office try, myself included, but nobody could manage to access them. We don't really understand what these visions are. All we know is that they usually come to Nelly as dreams. We thought that if we knew more about them, we could find a way to eradicate them. That's where _you_ come in."

What did the Ministry need his help for? There were plenty of others just as capable as he was of exploring this muggle's memory. Snape knew that it was his responsibility to bring Nelly to the Ministry, but if he could have foreseen just how much trouble it would end up being, he would have just let Nelly be.

"Why do you need _me_ to 'help make sense of Nelly's visions'? You have plenty of skilled witches and wizards in this department and a few of them know more about Legilimency and Occlumency than even I ever will. I don't want any part in this. I am a Hogwarts Professor, not a Ministry employee." Snape stood up to leave. He was done with this business. They could not make him assist them.

"You will help us Severus…" said Mr. Jones, standing up to face Snape. He put his hands on the desk and leaned across it towards Snape.

"Oh, will I just?"spat Snape sarcastically.

"It's up to you. Let me just warn you that the Ministry has not forgotten about your_ involvement_ in the war…." Mr. Jones threatened.

Snape pounded his fist in anger. After all the effort that was put in to get his name cleared, how dare the Ministry use his actions against him! "Y-you can't use that! I was cleared, there was a trial, I'm a free man!"

Mr. Jones had to have been bluffing. There was no way they could prosecute Snape for his actions. He had been tried. Potter's testimony had cleared him of all guilt.

"That Snape, was the Second Wizarding War, I seem to remember your actions being _less than noble_ in the First War."

Snape groaned. Of course. They still had that on him. After all he had done for the Wizarding World, you would think the Ministry could overlook that….but obviously not.

Mr. Jones smiled smugly. Snape was not a stupid man. He would assist them with this task. Only a foolish man would risk Azkaban, and everyone knew that innocence or guilt had nothing to do with a person's conviction in a wizard trial. "The Ministry is offering you an exchange. You help us, we forget about your illegal activity in the First Wizarding War."

Severus didn't want to help them. He didn't want to submit to blackmail. But it was the only choice available to him. Defying the Ministry would almost certainly end in Azkaban.

Snape nodded slowly. Through gritted teeth he hissed "Fine, I will help. But on three conditions."

"And what are your terms Professor Snape?" Mr. Jones asked politely. He could be civil, now that things were going according to the wishes of the Ministry.

"First of all, I want my 'illegal actions' permanently wiped from the slate. They can't just be used against me whenever it suits the Ministry. Secondly, if I am to participate in this, everything must be done my way. That means no interference from the Ministry whatsoever. Thirdly, I demand to know why the Ministry is so keen to have_ me_ fulfill this role."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." grinned Mr. Jones triumphantly, "We want your help because, well, how about I show you? It will make more sense then. Come with me."

Mr. Jones led Snape out of his office. While Mr. Jones was gloating over his win, Snape was cursing what he'd gotten himself into. He would be forced to spend hours of his time, with a stinking_ muggle_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please review, and sorry for taking so long to update, I lost motivation as I didn't get many reviews. Thanks**** Tinar and ****flame55**** for your reviews. **

***Spoiler Alert***

**Next chapter will have Snape and Nelly in there and I may start dropping in signs of building attraction, or I might leave that until the next chapter, either way its right up soon….**

***End Spoiler***

**Anyway please review, even with only a couple of reviews I promise to be motivated **

**Thanks for reading this guys! Plot suggestions, writing tips, all welcome! And questions too!**


	5. Nelly's cell

Mr. Jones took Snape back through the Office of Obliviators. But they didn't go to the corridor that led to the lifts. Instead they went through another door in the office.

There they found themselves in bright white corridors. Snape frowned. He hated to be in light places. For some reason he had always felt comfortable in darker surroundings. That was probably why he enjoyed being in the dungeons so much.

Snape wondered what Mr. Jones was going to show him. There was no way that anything Mr. Jones showed him could convince Snape that he was the best person to help Nelly.

Mr. Jones stopped in front of a large white door, with a tiny window that looked into the room behind. It had the number 37 written on it.

Snape could see Nelly through the window. She sat on the floor, screwed up into a tight ball. Her head rested in her hands, while she kept very still. Her long brown hair hung messily about her face. Her posture look very unnatural, Nelly seemed as though she was afraid to move.

Snape felt a little angry at the ministry. Was it necessary to keep innocent people locked up like animals? But then again, going by Nelly's behaviour and attitude when he brought her here, she wasn't very cooperative. Maybe it was all they could do to have some control over her.

"Before we go in here, I need to tell you something else Professor." Mr. Jones whispered.

Snape looked at him, "Is it the reason that_ I_ am required for this task?"

"No, but it will help you to conclude why you are needed, _when_ you speak to Nelly."

"Why couldn't this be dealt with in your office?" Snape growled.

"I needed to ensure that you would agree to help us first. Are you definitely going through with this?" Mr. Jones looked through the window at Nelly "You realise you will be required to spend a lot of time with this woman –_muggle_."

"What choice do I have?" Snape asked sarcastically.

Mr. Jones smiled, "I suppose you don't have any."

"When you have finished enjoying yourself," Snape sneered "feel free to explain whatever it was you were going to tell me."

Mr. Jones' smile faded "We don't think that Nelly's visions are predictions of the future."

"So, she is seeing events of the present?" concluded Snape.

"No. She is seeing... _memorie_s."

Now Snape was confused. If Nelly's visions were just memories, why couldn't they be removed like her other memories were? And how could Nelly remember things, that she didn't know existed? It just didn't make sense. Mr. Jones spotted Snape's confusion and elaborated.

"They are not_ Nelly's _memories. I have concluded they belong to _someone_ else. That's why we can't reach them. We can only remove _Nelly's_ memories from_ Nelly_."

"Wait, whose memories is she seeing then?"

Mr. Jones sighed "We don't...er...know. That's the first thing we need to discover. Then we need to establish how and why Nelly is seeing this person's memories. Only then can we break the connection and finally put an end to her 'visions'."

When Severus had first decided to bring Nelly to the Ministry, he could never have dreamed of how unusual her case was. He supposed that the Ministry expected him to work out whose memories they were.

Mr. Jones spoke, "When you are in there, don't introduce yourself to her. We haven't mentioned you to her." He opened the door and gestured for Snape to walk in.

As Snape entered Mr. Jones closed the door behind him, leaving Nelly and Snape alone. Nelly must have heard the door, but she refused to look up.

Snape wondered what he was meant to be doing in here. Nelly wouldn't remember him. The Ministry had apparently managed to remove her memories of their meeting at Godric's Hollow, and the time they had spent in the Ministry together. Should he talk to her? Mr. Jones had told him not to introduce himself, but he hadn't told Snape not to _talk _to Nelly.

Snape stood in silence for a few moments before clearing his throat, "Nelly, how are you?"

Severus wasn't normally polite, but he had no idea what to say. Somehow insults and sarcasm did not seem appropriate.

He hadn't expected her to respond as she still seemed afraid to move, but he saw Nelly shiver. After a few more moments she slowly lifted her head to Snape. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused as though she was in a dream.

Nelly closed her eyes slowly. She opened her eyes, everything was becoming clearer. How long had she been here? A day? A few weeks? A year? Nelly didn't remember why she was here, but she had heard her captures talking, whispering to each other. Nelly was dangerous, somehow her visions had the potential to bring harm to others. What kind of monster was she? Nelly wanted to lay her head back into her arms and lose herself in her dream world. Lose all sense of time again.

But, that voice she had heard was so familiar. Now she saw a man in front of her. She knew this man. Nelly didn't know where she knew him from, or how she knew him. But she just did.

Snape watched Nelly as her eyes widened in what seemed like recognition. He would have assumed it was the room she was recalling, except Nelly was looking straight at him. She couldn't remember him though! It was impossible! The ministry had removed her memories of him.

Even so, Snape was unsure. "Do you know who I am?" he asked quietly.

She tilted her head side to side examining him and then nodded her head.

She whispered softly "You are S-Se...hmm...S-se...vvvv–"

"How do you know that?" Snape interrupted. Although Nelly didn't immediately know his full name, what she said was enough to convince him that some part of her remembered him, but he couldn't say how.

"I don't know." Nelly said dreamily. She put her head back into her hands and transformed back into an unmoving statue once again.

How did she know him? How did she know him? Snape ran his fingers through his hair. How did she know him? Mr. Jones said the Ministry didn't tell her about him, he said they removed him from her memory.

Snape walked back to the door, deciding that there was nothing else he could do in here for the moment. Mr. Jones opened it for Snape. He had been watching the whole affair through the small window.

Severus was slightly shaken. He was not used to this type of thing. Nelly was so changed from the determined young lady he met a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't that he cared about her. Snape was just shocked at her transformation, and especially shocked that Nelly had recognised him.

"H-how does she know me?" he asked Mr. Jones, trying to steady his voice.

"Isn't it obvious? The person whose memories Nelly sees must have known you. We can't touch those memories. That's why she still remembers you." he replied.

"Why didn't she know who I was when we first meet at Godric's Hollow then?"

"We can't be sure but...you may have looked familiar to Nelly, she just couldn't quite work out who you were. That meeting with you must have opened something in her visions, so even though she no longer recalls the meeting, she still sort of knows you. In fact, unless you complete this task she will probably never forget you now." Mr. Jones shook his head.

"Hmm." Snape muttered.

"So now you know why we need you. Being around you might help to open up other parts of her visions. Not only that, but it stands to reason that if the person to whom the memories belong to has met you, then you must have met them. You can explore your memories at the same time for clues. We weren't a hundred percent sure that she would remember you Professor Snape. I could sense that you were still somewhere in her thoughts, after the Godric Hollow memory was removed. Therefore I could only assume that this was the case, turns out I was right." Mr. Jones seemed pleased with himself.

"What happens now?" asked Snape.

"You can retire for the day. Report back to the Ministry same place and time tomorrow for further instruction. Don't mention this to anyone. What we are doing is not completely...legal. After all, we're not meant to explore things like this, but I don't see what other options we have." Mr. Jones was weary that Snape would blab. But he had nothing to worry about, Snape would not risk Azkaban.

Now Severus finally understood why he must be the one to help her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks Blu, Zireael07 and Sakura Lisel for your reviews. The story will go on to explain all your questions, and you raised some very good points so thanks for taking the time to think in that much detail about this fic. Yes, she will eventually meet Harry, but that won't be for a while. I hope that others will also review this chapter so that I don't lose motivation in this story. I think so far I have been pretty good in updating (at least I hope so). Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be all about what Snape and Nelly think about each other now that I have established where this story is going and outlined a lot of important facts (although not all). Review please please!**


End file.
